Haku-san's Visit

I completely forgot to ask Ichika about the rescue fee beforehand.

Apparently, given that situation where Muzoh had begged us to save them, we could have demanded everything they owned down to their underwear, or even half of what they'd sell for as slaves, and they wouldn't have been able to complain.

Of course, going that far would make recovery hopeless, so it's considered proper etiquette to leave them with something…

Market rate for a C-Rank is about four gold coins per person.

"As expected of Goshujin-sama, yer eye for judgin' these things is top-notch. Since they'll be owing ya a magic sword in the future, ya gotta leave 'em funds to prepare for that too. Factor in the magic sword and it's about even, maybe even a bit profitable on our end? Yep, a little effort for some goodwill sold, and we're rakin' it in!"

Well, if that's the case, I'll take it as a win.

I didn't even need to return to Tsuia. I was able to receive the money right at the Adventurer Guild branch office… Four gold coins. Absolutely delicious. These guys had been talking about spending all their savings on an A-Rank meal, yet here they were with a tidy sum tucked away. Three of those coins were apparently Uzoh's, though.

… Converting that to DP would be 4,000 DP. Actually, maybe I should just use it as cash. Should I increase the inn's staff?

Uzoh and Muzoh stayed another night at the inn, both of them declaring they'd go for the C-Rank meal this time. They also treated Ichika and me to our meals. And Niku too, since she was a party member… Yeah, I definitely could have squeezed more money out of them. Oh well.

Since it was a special occasion, I served them our first-ever C-Rank meal: the Steak Set. When Ichika told them this would become the B-Rank meal in the future, their faces became a complicated mixture of happiness at eating something so good and sadness at knowing they wouldn't be able to order it so casually anymore.

The next day, after reporting their quest at the Adventurer Guild branch office, Uzoh and Muzoh left with smiles and waves.

To summarize the income we obtained from Uzoh and Muzoh this time:

2,650 DP, four gold coins, twenty-nine silver coins, and five copper coins. The DP figure is a calculated value that might have some margin of error from the dungeon earnings, but it should be about right.

… In currency alone, that's the equivalent of 4,295,000 yen. Man, good thing I didn't kill them! I wouldn't have gotten their savings if I had. Getting a new magic sword on top of all this makes it even sweeter.

Then there was the guild's investigation and rescue quest reward… Even though it was an investigation quest, I didn't have to share information I didn't need to. Even adventurers apparently hide information to some extent to maintain their advantage, stopping just short of outright lies… Well, there are lie-detecting magic tools, so there's that.

The information I disclosed was: "Goblins at first, then golems after going down the stairs," "Uzoh and Muzoh were on the floor right after the stairs," and "There was a trap set up that prevented escape." Basically, the same stuff Uzoh and Muzoh would be reporting on their end anyway.

By the way, the method to disarm the trap, "Return the magic sword to the pedestal," earned an additional ten silver coins. It was originally supposed to be five, but Uzoh and Muzoh apparently said, "That's their information, so please add a bonus for them."… What upstanding guys.

I also drew a map of the first-floor entrance area and handed it over. They bought it for eight silver coins. They're paying out pretty readily, even though this is stuff they could probably figure out on their own easily enough.

So in total, twenty-eight silver coins. A nice haul. And Receptionist-san's five-day stay was worth about 600 DP and five silver coins.

With this, we've got a decent cushion of both funds and DP. Remaining DP is… 19,532. The reason it hasn't broken 20,000 is because I've been spending some on the Tsuia Mountain tunnel. I've been steadily drilling through it and claiming territory bit by bit.

… Yeah, with this much DP, we should be able to keep expenses low for a while. I can convert the gold coins anytime, so I'll hold onto them for now.

"Getting this much income right off the bat is pretty sweet, wouldn't you say… Even accounting for the bonus, that's the equivalent of 350 goblins in just eleven days."

"… That's amazing! But why did you convert it to goblins? Huh?"

What? It's easier for Rokuko to understand that way, isn't it? I flashed her a nice smile.

"Well… it is easier to understand, but… that doesn't sit right with me!"

I gave Rokuko's head a few gentle pats.

Investigation quests are meant to gauge a dungeon's difficulty before opening it up to the general adventurer population.

Now that both C-Rank and E-Rank adventurers have returned safely, the difficulty probably won't be set too high. If this dungeon gets popular with low-level adventurers and we get a stable flow of DP, we should be able to fortify the dungeon even more.

… And even though the Dungeon Core is placed deep inside the dungeon, if adventurers ever reach the final floor, I can just castle it with the dummy core in my room at the inn to ensure safety. That lets me sleep with far more peace of mind.

Dungeon exploration? Sure, go right ahead. Don't worry, there's nothing there even if you make it to the very end. All you'll find is disappointment and exhaustion.

… Ahh, once I've built up more DP, I really should remodel the dungeon to look more dungeon-like.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

A few more days passed, and the dungeon's new name was finally decided.

Its name: [Cave of Desires].

Apparently named because giving in to your desires might get you killed. They don't have to be that cautious about it, though. It'd be easier for me if they let their guard down.

The restriction is E-Rank. Classified as an ordinary low-tier dungeon. Well, Uzoh and Muzoh nearly dying was basically a freak accident, and the escape method for the trap has been publicly announced.

"Congratulations, Rokuko-chan. You've been given a name befitting your overflowing charm, Rokuko-chan."

"Thank you so much, Haku-neesama!"

The one who came to deliver this breaking news was none other than Haku-san, currently stroking Rokuko's head gently.

Standing slightly behind and to the side was Chloe-san, dressed in her usual butler attire.

"… So, why are you here, Haku-san?"

"I heard your dungeon was going public, so I rushed over to stay here. I hurried so I could be the very first customer at Rokuko-chan's inn."

"I'm sorry, but Haku-san, you're the fourth."

"What did you say…?! … Would you mind telling me who those three were? If I make them disappear, I'll be first, won't I?"

"Please stop. You can have our best room, so please accept being the first guest of our suite room. I'm begging you."

The suite room… that's the room I threw together for the purpose of entertaining A-Rank adventurers.

The suite's bedding is where I went all out. It uses a higher grade than the [Futon (5 DP)]: the [Memory Foam Mattress (200 DP)]. I combined this with a handcrafted wooden bed frame featuring sculptural carvings for a luxurious finish. Then I topped it off with a [Down Comforter (100 DP)]. If I do say so myself, it turned out pretty great.

I also added unnecessary reliefs to the furniture, installed light magic tools styled like candelabras, and put in windows made from potion bottle glass complete with curtains. The whole works.

On top of that, the room has its own bath and toilet. Each in a separate room, mind you. Not some all-in-one unit.

The bath is wooden, but that gives it a cypress bath feel that actually adds to the luxury… maybe.

There's even a massage chair in the room. After a bath, you can drape the included [Towel Blanket (5 DP)] over yourself and doze off while getting massaged.

And you don't even have to come to the dining hall for meals - just press a button and we'll bring it to you. Full service.

… Honestly, the only reason this room exists is because the inn was built under the pretext of accommodating A-Rank adventurers, so Haku-san's probably the only one who'll ever use it!

By the way, even a normal room costs fifty copper per night, and we've already set the meal prices pretty high, so the specially-priced suite room is not where I sleep. If I stayed somewhere that expensive, people would be like, "How the heck can some E-Rank adventurer afford that…?!" Damage to my reputation would be one thing, but I'd like to avoid arousing suspicion. Damn it, if only they hadn't set up that guild branch office, I could've used the suite on days when there weren't any guests…!

"So, how much will it be? I will pay properly, you know? I won't accept not being counted as the first guest just because I didn't pay, understood?"

There's no such rule!

"… Ahh, we haven't actually set a price for the suite room yet…"

"That's our best room. I helped with the interior too, you know… Haku-neesama, how much do you think it should cost per night?"

"Oh my, is that so? How exciting. Hmm, in that case, I'll pay a fair price when I leave."

That's a big help. Since I've never stayed at a luxury inn, I have no idea what the going rate would be despite having set one up.

"Oh, and for meals, we'll prepare A-Rank fare. The 'story' is that Haku-san provides ingredients to Rokuko via [Storage], so please play along with that."

"Understood. And of course, it will be otherworld cuisine, yes? Here, two gold coins including Chloe's share. I'm looking forward to it."

I would've been fine treating her, but oh well. I'll take what I can get. The way she just casually hands over gold coins… how should I put it? This woman operates on a completely different scale. Ah, right, she's a two-digit number, so she's literally a different order of magnitude.

… Still, now that I think about it, I really can't see the A-Rank meal we've planned being worth a million yen.

Maybe I should change the menu to a Manchurian-Han imperial banquet or a French full course instead?